10 seconds
by simplifydefeat
Summary: Just 10 seconds changed Evelyn's life...


**Disclaimer: I don't owe anything.**  
**A/N: My first "devious" fic. It's probably tragic... I had so many problems with it and I'm not satisfied of result as I wanted to... It's totally messy and senseless, i think. But enjoy :)**

**Forgive me my hopeless English, I know I'm not good. **  
**And, the story is dedicated to dreamgirlforever :) Love ya girl :***

They were holding hands and laughing at the joke, which Adrian just said; Barrett was riding nearby on his new bike, which he wanted to get so much. His eyes were sparkling in excitement and he has big smile on face.

"Look at me! Look, how good I am!" he called out and went a bit farther.

"Barrett, don't go much away from us, please." warned him Adrian.

"Let him enjoy his present." Evelyn smiled to him softly. Adrian nodded and leant a bit to kiss his wife. He took her beautiful face in one hand, stroking her loosen hair by the second one, when she was gently rubbing his cheek. It was one of those sweet, chaste kisses they were sharing all the time.

"Mum! You haven't been watching how I veer!" accusingly called Barrett behind Evelyn's back.

" I'm sorry darling. I will surely look at you the next time." She promised him, moving away her lips from husband's.

"Ok. I'll call you." They were looking with Adrian at little happy boy pedaling around the park and then smiled to each other and shared proud looks of their only child.

"Mommy, look!" they heard Barrett's voice in the same moment when Adrian's pager sounded. They both stood up. He took his pager with him and she took a course to their son.

"I'll be right back." Said Adrian and went to their limo parked nearby. He looked at his wife one more time and she turned around as if she felt his gaze. Her red, shining in sun curls whirled over the turn, that he couldn't believe how beautiful she is. They exchanged full of love glances then Adrian went to the car typing something fast on his pager. She's been looking over him for a while and when he got to the limo, she turned to son, which was mastering new cycle skills. Her heart stopped at the moment in which she saw big car hitting on her little boy.

"Barrett!" her appalling scream spread around the park, when she darted like a devil to the place of accident. When she reached her son, the offender was gone. She grabbed his wispy arms, crying her heart out.

"Barrett, Barrett awake, I'm begging you! Just look at me, Barrett!" she wept. She couldn't comprehend how's that happened, she turned only for ten seconds. "BARRETT! Don't do this to me! Please…" she was kneeling above lying senseless boy, tears running down her face. She didn't even noticed when the next car stopped.

"Jesus Christ! Call 911!" the driver instructed young rider in his car. "Ma'am?" he asked Evelyn. Her spasmodic sob was the only answer.

Along with the ambulance has shown up breathless Adrian with eyes wet from tears. He collapsed on the street next to his wife and was looking as paramedics are trying to save their son's life. After a while, which were dragging like infinity, one of those shook his head regretfully. Evelyn fell down and buried her face in her hands, crying buckets. Adrian allowed himself for more tears too. He looked at his wife, sitting on the street totally broke down. His eyes, despite they were sealed by tears, were cold.

"God, what have you done Evelyn." He said and then took her, quivering from cry, in his arms and buried his face in her hair crying tough as well. 

xxx 

Evelyn was sitting on the sofa and watching flames dancing in the fireplace. They were soothing her. She was rubbing her fingers at the rim of the cup with untasted, cold tea and the last tears were drying on her cheeks. When while ago Adrian entrance the room intimating that he arranged meeting at 18th, she couldn't stand it and struck him right at face, but when he left, the anger's surceased replaced by dull feeling of sadness. She couldn't stop tears going to her eyes. She also couldn't understand how he could forget about the most important and equally the most painful date in their lives. Day by day since fifteen years, she was thinking about what happened then. Unending pain was stabbing her heart when in front of her eyes was still showing up the same picture. The same event was assailing her on and on. And sometimes she wanted to forget, just like Adrian did while ago. She's loved her son and she missed him very, very much but piercing feeling of emptiness and guilt was killing her inside. She couldn't stop it. And no matter that she was sitting alone in huge house, gossiping with rich Beverly wives or listening though thin bedroom walls how her husband's screwing a maid, the same feeling always was coming back. And despite that with time she learned how to hide it, she has never stopped feeling it just as strong as at the beginning. She'd also never rid herself from the bitter taste, which that feeling was giving to her life. Adrian was feeding whole this time all of this, talking that he can't forgive her, and now he just forgot…

Her hand quivered a little and the cup fell on the white carpet. Evelyn was watching how spilled tea is making on the fluffy material unattractive stain and then she stood up firmly, wiped out her tears and rose her eyes up.

"I'm so sorry Barrett, but it's the last gift I'll buy you. I need to start a new life…" she said uncertain voice and left the room. Pacing through the hall she grabbed her Birkin bag and primping her intricate pinned up bun, she left to buy the last birthday present for Barrett, breaking thus the tradition they set with Adrian 15 years earlier. 

xxx 

The smoke from snuffed candles was wafting in the air. Evelyn was crying though she promised to herself to not doing it. Adrian looked at her with barely visible dose of compassion, but he said nothing. He was only rubbing methodically her hand by his thumb. That reminded her the time when they could be happy yet. They could speak together on every subject, share kisses dependently from situation chaste or very sultry, and every second with each other, even the most trivial activity, was the most beautiful in their lives. It all burst like soap bubble, when they plunged into the grief after Barrett's death. Years were passing and the pain hasn't release at all, but were blearing a little; there had to be live on. But they couldn't, everything they've had then, gone away with their son. Anger and mutual reproaches covered love, every talk they had were finishing fight, the care about each other disappeared as though…

Evelyn was in a muddle. The accident was mixing with question what she has done to deserve this… disdain from her husband. She tugged away her hand from his and placed it on her knees. He looked at her with surprise. She looked away, couldn't stand his glare and said only:

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts. "Adrian, " she said after awhile. "I still can't understand one thing. Why you give me to believe that I'm responsible for our son's death since you know that it wasn't my fault?

"Evelyn. You're starting again? I thought that we decided, that it's no more fights for today." His voice sounded sharply.

She laughed behind the tears and she shook her head:

"No, you decided. Like always with everything."

"I don't want to discuss about it." He stood up and done up his jacket going to exit. "Know, that you've just ruined our son's birthday and the next occasion to talk about him you have in a year." He said and left.

Evelyn wanted to scream. It's all again, throwing her in guilt. She felt suffocated and she wanted to stop it. She recalled the idea, which shown up in her mind when she was buying a gift for Barrett. The idea she was actually afraid of. The divorce. Extreme, which she doesn't want to reach.

She stood up and took the cake with her to put it in the refrigerator. She deserves more than Adrian was giving her. But she give him the last chance and if he don't take it, she'll file for divorce. 

xxx 

Evelyn was devastated, she couldn't believe in what she just heard. Adrian went aside, trying to control his emotions.

"No. No, this doesn't make any sense though. Barrett was hit by a car that sped away and the people in that car

never even stopped…" her voice broke and single tears started going down her cheeks. "…to see if my son was okay, and I do not believe that you could be that callous…" she rose and made few steps through the room. She was turned back to Nicholas and Marisol, so they couldn't see her tears and fright in her eyes for memory of accident. Everything was back again, this time with increased power. Adrian and her looking at each other with love, the moment in which she turns and sees her son and the car at the one line, offender, which runs away, Barrett lying unconscious next to his destroyed bike and that feeling of overarching terror… She doesn't even want to listen excuses from the man who killed her child. His words were hurting her more than anything. Although she was nodding at his statement, she has no idea was he was talking to her. Seconds later terror in her eyes deepened, when she saw husband with antic dagger in hand. In one moment she was beside him.

" What are you doing?"

"You killed my son!" he was yelling to laying at the floor Nicholas, which he has gashed already.

"Yes, he did." She was trying to calm him down by her trembled voice, pulling him aside.

"You left him to die in the street!"

"Yes. He did. Look at me." She said nearly soundless, clenching her hand on his forearm. When he turned to her, she saw the same pain in his eyes as years ago. She pulled the dagger out from his hand, her eyes were expressing prayer to him not making things he'll regret later. He gave up and sat at the armchair covering his face by hands. She rest her hand on his shoulder in consolingly gesture and she gather rest of her force to talk to Nicholas.

"Make no mistake." The repulsion glinted in her eyes. "The only reason that you are not dead right now is I believe a harsher punishment awaits you... one...beyond your imagination. I want him taken to the police." She said shaky voice and she moved to Adrian, pursing her lips to stop cry.

"For what it's worth... I am so... very sorry." Nick's words knifed in her heart. His sorry feeling couldn't gave back her son.

"After all these years... It's worth nothing at all." She said, looking at him coldly, gulping back her tears until he left. She fell at the floor next to husband, replacing the dagger, which she was holding yet. Adrian leant and gathered her to him and surrounded by his arms.

"All these years, I blamed you for Barrett's death." He said what finally freed her held tears. These fifteen years hurt so much. "God, what did I do to you? To us?" she rose her eyes at him, slight wonder flickered through her face. He was talking about "them" – something, which she thought will never come back. In his eyes she saw former glow. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked. She nodded, smiling from behind tears.

"I think it's time we forgive each other… For everything."

She cuddled to him and he was stroking soothingly her back. His touch and smell of his perfume was quieting her. She missed him so much. She thought, that maybe they could rebuild what those damn 10 seconds ruined and she struggled her head up at his arm, trying to hold the same distress again and forget. 

THE END?


End file.
